Bring Back Liner Notes, Says Recording Academy

Saturday, August 25, 2012 - 12:00 AM

As liner notes get scarce in the digital age, the Recording Academy wants fans to still be able to find out who the people are behind their favorite hit.

So the Academy announced Thursday that it will launch the "Give Fans the Credit" campaign, which plans to give music listeners more information on the people behind the creation of a song, aside from the song's main performer.

Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow said in a statement that music fans are getting less information on songs today because of digital platforms, which tend to only offer a song's title and performer. But the Academy wants be sure fans are getting liner notes for albums, and that songwriters, non-featured performers, producers and engineers are highlighted for their work.

"We can watch movies online with the credits included, and the same should be true for digitally released recordings," Portnow's statement reads. "If music devices can access millions of tracks in the cloud, we're confident we can find a way to acknowledge those who created the tracks here on earth."

The initiative will feature "honorary ambassadors" who will help facilitate the discussion, including T Bone Burnett, music producer RedOne, Jimmy Jam, Sheila E, songwriter Lamont Dozier and producer Don Was. The Academy's news release said the ambassadors plan to meet with digital music outlets "to brainstorm ways to deliver more robust crediting information on digital music platforms."